Friday, November 21, 2008

i'm a baby carrier whore, part 2

so, a few months ago, i dedicated an entire post to my love for baby carriers. at the time, i had four different styles, with yet another one somewhere in the UPS delivery system. heh.

and since then, i've actually added another THREE to my stash. i swear, i'm like a drug addict. and my poison is baby carriers, of all things. good lord. i never really considered myself to be the earth mother/granola type (still don't), but it seems that a number of the things i do qualify me as such: babywearing (yeah, i said it), breastfeeding, co-sleeping (which totally happened by accident, yet i can't seem to stop), feeding the bean organic products as much as possible, making her pureed food myself. although i sure as hell don't plan on a lot of the other things, like homeschooling (hell no), delaying/opting out of vaccinations (no way in hell), or cloth diapering (ew). i'm not thatcrunchy.

but as i mentioned in my last post, i'm currently in the process of selling off the carriers i either don't use or didn't care for (thanks to those of you who have inquired and/or actually bought some of them!). i'm hoping i can send them off to happy, loving homes where they'll get lots of use with cuddly, cute wee ones instead of sitting in a drawer, sad and lonely.

now, on with the reviews. let's go:

eden baby carrier: this is an asian, "mei tai"-style piece made of canvas (well, mine is, anyway - it also comes in velveteen and organic cotton). it kind of, sort of reminds me of an apron - there's a rectangular-ish body with a set of straps to tie around the waist and another set that goes over the shoulders, crisscrossing the back, and finishing at the waist with a square knot. i thought it was an interesting blend of the moby wrap and the ergo (which is still my favorite).

as it turns out, i'm not really a big fan of it, as i've gotten used to the ease and simplicity of the buckles with the ergo. i only ended up using it once. i thought the material was a bit stiff, and the bean simply didn't look comfortable in it. there are hordes of folks (women AND men) who love mei tais, but i sure ain't one of 'em.

zolowear ring sling: while on our hawaiian vacation this summer, i found myself wishing i had a lightweight carrier that i could wade into the water with. and when we stopped for lunch in kailua, i wandered into a cute little store called baby showers hawaii. when i explained what i was looking for, the owner and her daughter immediately pulled out this sling. i'd always avoided these types of carriers after not loving the peanut shell, but as they draped it over my shoulder and showed me how to put the bean in it properly, i was totally sucked in. it was made of a really cool material called solarveil, which is really light and airy and even blocks 70-80% of harmful UV rays. but i balked slightly at the $69 price tag, knowing that i'd get an earful from the hub over the purchase of yet another babywearing device.

so instead, i waited till i got home, searched for it on the internet, and discovered that the damn thing had been discontinued. the company that manufactures the solarveil material went out of business last year. but i managed to find one on clearance - in pink, no less - although it was a size too small. i convinced myself that it was adjustable and that it would be totally fine - and i bought it.

of course, when it arrived, it was definitely too small, and it wasn't as easy to adjust as i'd remembered. ugh. and instead of calling the company to see if i could return it, i tossed it in the back of a drawer in the nursery and promptly forgot all about it. it's one of the two i put on craigslist last night. hopefully some new mom who's smaller than i am will see it and decide that she absolutely HAS to have it. yeah, wish me luck on that one.

rockin' baby sling: when these came up on mamabargains, i managed to convince myself that i totally needed to give ring slings another shot. after all, the regular price on it was somewhere around $100, and here they were, in a really cute print, for the bargain price of $35.50!

but then my order arrived, i pulled it out of the box, and spent the next half an hour trying to figure the damn thing out. it's a long piece of thick, pleated fabric, with two rings on one end and a nicely sized pocket at the other. you thread it through like a belt, put it on, spread the material evenly across the rings and over your shoulder, and then put the baby in. i followed the instructions, adjusted it for my height, and carefully plopped the bean in the resulting pouch.

she looked up at me like i was nuts, yo. like, if she could talk, she'd have said "mom, WTF? how many of these things are you going to stick me in before you realize that we already have a great carrier (that ergo)? i mean, sure, it's ugly as sin and it looks like the fat suit that daddy calls it, but it works and it's comfy. give it up already!"

so i let out a big sigh, refolded the sling, put it back in the box, and stuck it in the back of the closet. i really just don't have the patience for something that requires that much adjustment.

beco butterfly: my friend mommybelle (also known these days as paperella) sent me a link to this carrier a few months ago, damn her ;) and i managed to avoid the temptation for a really long time. i mean, the last thing i needed was another carrier, right? especially considering the fact that it's quite similar to my beloved ergo, although the beco is much cuter and way more stylish due to a panel of designer decorative fabric on the body.

in reading user reviews, i learned that the biggest difference is for back carrying - the baby is securely buckled in the carrier first, and then you pick it up and put it on like a backpack. with the ergo, it takes some careful (and not always easy) maneuvering - and without a second person to help out, there's always a good chance that the baby could slip out and fall right on the floor. this is why i'm not that experienced in carrying the bean on my back.

until last week, when that damn mamabargains put up a bunch of them for way less than retail. i swear, that site (along with babysteals) is going to be the death of me. i'm actually quite relieved when i check them and find that the current "steal" is something i have absolutely NO use for. but this day - not so much. i settled on the adorably pink "martini" print, entered my payment information, and hit "order now" without so much as a second thought.

i received it two days ago, and as the teen shook her head in disapproval, i excitedly pulled it out and got busy adjusting the straps and strapping the bean in. it's just as cute as i'd hoped, and after the initial adjustments, is equally as simple to use. i've read reviews about how the detachable sleeping hood sucks ass, but we don't really use the hood all that much anyway. the bean always yanks it off in annoyance. and i'm pretty stoked over the ease of back carrying with it. i'm looking forward to trying it out on longer walks than just trotting back and forth in the house, but even just the sheer cuteness of this carrier has already won me over. i'm totally leaving the ergo fat suit for the hub's sporadic babywearing episodes.

see how cute and girly the print is?

i love it.

okay, that just about covers it. and if i ever end up writing a THIRD post containing baby carrier reviews on even more styles (because believe me, even after all of these, there ARE still more out there), i hereby give you permission to smack me upside the head.

12 comments:

yeah, she's walking - but she's still pretty little, and not completely steady on her feet. i use the carrier when we go out on walks or shopping or something - just consider me on the same level as moms with strollers.

except for that i don't bump into the backs of your legs with the damn thing. ;)

I need to find a carrier that works! Little miss Maya just isn't really a fan of the Moby. I'm going to a carrier clinic at The Pump Station tomorrow so *fingers crossed* I'll find something she likes!

I actually purchased the Ergo carrier after reading your review. (They should really pay you for your endorsement. =) ) I love the Ergo, but it takes a little practice getting the baby in there. I think I might try the Beco. It's super cute! I also saw this carrier: http://www.kemby.com/p-13-sidekick-diaper-bag.aspx Kinda of funny looking, but I bet it's really useful!

Oh I've been itching at the Beco for awhile. I loooooove my ergo but I agree trying to get the baby on my back is quite a feet b/c she doesn't know how to hold on and she's still small considering she's 9 month old. I'll definitely have to check it out, but the hefty price tag is holding me back!